Happy Thanksgiving!

O n behalf of the Provincial Council, I want to wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving Day! I am writing this letter in Rome on Sunday, November 19, the Church’s first annual Day of the Poor. In the square outside St. Peter’s, a tent clinic has been set up for the poor and homeless. I have just finished participating in a conference on inequalities in health care.

So, as I celebrate this Thanksgiving, our Province’s work with the poor and those marginalized and homeless is very much on my mind. On Thanksgiving Day, we join together to give thanks for blessings received. Many attend Mass, our faith’s great act of thanksgiving. Let us also show our gratitude to God by our support for and solidari-

ty with the poor in our communities and throughout the world. As we show our thanks to God for blessings received, we be-come a source of blessing for others. Again, may you all have a Happy Thanksgiving.

Tom Nairn, OFM – Provincial Minister

AROUND THE PROVINCE WEEKLY NEWSLETTER OF THE PROVINCE OF THE SACRED HEART

shpatpstl@gmail.com—November 23, 2017

Padua: Only Northeast Ohio High Schools

with Increasing Enrollment

P adua Franciscan High School is the only Cath-

olic high school in Northeast Ohio whose en-

rollment increased for the 2017-2018 school

year. (The other three schools listed were

grade schools, not high schools.) Padua’s enrollment

is currently 803, putting them

on Crain’s Cleveland Business’ list

of top five largest parochial high

schools in Northeast Ohio. Click

the link to read the article: http://

www.crainscleveland.com/

article/20171029/news/140301/list-analysis-parochial-schools-shrink-others-grow

Lawrence Jagdfeld, OFM Celebrates Golden Jubilee as a Friar

The Franciscan Sisters of the Sacred Heart in Frankfort, IL, honored Lawrence Jagdfeld, OFM, on the occasion of his 50th jubilee as a Franciscan friar. Lawrence’s family members

and some friars from the Chicago area attended the event to congrat-ulate our brother for another milestone in his life. Ad Multos Annos, Lawrence!

Submitted: Ed Arambasich, OFM

Father Liborius Breitenstein OFM 1866-1929

F ather Liborius Breitenstein and his

brother came to the United States after

the Kulturkampf had closed the semi-

naries and monasteries of his father-

land. A year later, both he and his brother were

seized by typhoid. While his brother died, "Franz" was

nursed back to health by the sisters of St. Anthony Hos-

pital in Effingham.

Father Liborius is best remembered for his work in

Platte Center, Nebraska, which he attended for many

years from the monastery in Columbus. He was respon-

sible for liquidating a tremendous debt, and,

subsequently, for building the stately St. Joseph

Church. The Humphrey Democrat wrote of

him, “To Father Liborius, this congregation

numbering 120 families is indebted for having

all it has, and when the debt that still remains

on the church is paid, our earnest wish is that

he will be left with us for years to come to en-

joy the fruits of his labors."

However, a short time later, he suffered a stroke which

left him almost totally paralyzed. After some months of suffering, he died in St. Louis where he was buried in

Saints Peter and Paul Cemetery. "Father Liborius was a

fine singer and musician, a good-natured and jovial con-frere, a humble religious, and a faithful priest.”

SHP Necrology

Around The Province—Weekly Newsletter of the Franciscan Province of the Sacred Heart Pepe Martínez, OFM—Office of Communications—1820 Grand Avenue—Manitowoc, WI 54220

815-272-3907—pepecheva@gmail.com

Remembering Our Brothers

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! November 25 Thom Smith (65) November 28 Frank Coens (71) November 29 Michael Hill (68)

PLEASE PRAY FOR: † Paul (Arno) Walsman, OFM - 92 (SJB), died on Nov. 13,

2017, at St. Margaret Hall, Cincinnati, OH. He was a friar for 67

years and a priest for 59.

† Felix McGrath, OFM - 87 (HN), died Nov.13, at Riverside

Premier Rehabilitation Center, NY. He was a friar for 62 years and

a priest for 56.

† Louis Diego De Tommaso, OFM - 89 (IC), died on Oct. 31, at

Manning Walsh Nursing Home, NY. No further information pro-

vided.

† Doan Ada-Pham, sister of our confrere, Duc Pham, OFM,

who died on November 18. Doan Ada was 57. She is survived by

her husband, Tony, and 3 children.

THANK YOU! To all my brothers: It is with heartfelt thanks that I say how much it meant to me that so many of you were in attendance at my father’s funeral. It is at such times, when one experiences the death of a parent, that one feels blessed to be part of a wonderful fraternity. I would like to thank the friars at Holy Cross Friary in Quincy, who went above and beyond the call of duty in covering for me in my ab-sence. This is something I won’t soon forget. Peace and all good! Bob Barko, OFM

DIRECTORY UPDATE LaVerna Friary no longer exists. John Abts and Mike Hill

have moved into a low income, senior independent living

facility near St Anthony's in south St Louis. Their new ad-

dresses are:

John J. Abts, OFM

4431 S. Broadway, Apt 328

Saint Louis, Mo 63111

Michael W. Hill, OFM

4431 S. Broadway, Apt 329

Saint Louis, Mo 63111

RETREAT AT IL RITIRO “Advent Retreat”

Saturday, December 2, 2017 9am – 3pm

Presenter: Sr. Marianne Keena, CSJ (Presented in the “Chapel of the Cedars” at Il Ritiro).

IL Ritiro Franciscan Retreat Center

P.O. Box 38 7935 St. Francis Lane Dittmer, MO 63023

Registration Fee: $30 (Lunch is included) Register: 636-274-0554

Email: il.ritiro@gmail.com; Pay by Check www.il-ritiro.org Register and pay by PayPal